Elijah Wood Recalls Playing a 'Heartbroken' Executive in Paula Abdul Music Video at Age 8

Virginia ChamleeFri, April 3, 2026 at 5:21 PM UTC

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Elijah Wood (left); Paula AbdulCredit: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty; Lizeth Ramirez/Getty -

Elijah Wood is reminiscing about one of his earliest acting jobs appearing in a Paula Abdul music video

Wood was 8 years old when he appeared in Abdul's 1989 music video for her song, "Forever Your Girl"

In a new podcast interview, the actor said: "I don't honestly remember much about that. Just that it was a fun experience. And I remember meeting Paula Abdul."

Elijah Wood is reflecting on one of his early acting jobs: an appearance in Paula Abdul's 1989 music video for her song, "Forever Your Girl."

Wood, 45, appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast to discuss his latest project, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, when host Josh Horowitz noted he had been in the video, which was directed by David Fincher, who would go on to direct feature films including 1999's Fight Club and 2014's Gone Girl.

The video — which parodies the style of Robert Palmer’s "Addicted to Love" video, showed an 8-year-old Wood and other young actors learning choreography from Abdul, now 63.

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"It was a really pleasant experience. You know, we were — all of the kids were tasked with being adults," Wood said of the video. "It was like they were recreating the Robert Palmer video with young kids. And then I don't know where my concept came from, but I was a sort of executive in an office, like, heartbroken, breaking a pencil, you know, with great angst, kind of running my hands through my hair, looking out a window. And [Fincher] was really clear with his direction."

Still, Wood conceded, "I don't honestly remember much about that. Just that it was a fun experience. And I remember meeting Paula Abdul."

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Wood said that meeting Abdul "was great."

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elijah-wood-paula-abdul-music-video-040226-f76453b4e75248049ae91ad2907eb5a9.jpgCredit: Paula Abdul/YouTube

"She was a huge singer at the time. You know, that album was massive. And so I definitely knew who she was, and it was very exciting," Wood added.

Wood said that he has reconnected with the singer since, saying, "I have since run into Paula Abdul. And she definitely remembers me from that video, which is funny. Very cute."

Wood has gone on to have an iconic career, and appeared as Frodo Baggins in filmmaker Peter Jackson's early 2000s Lord of the Rings trilogy and reuniting with the director for The Hobbit, all based on author J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy works set in Middle-earth. He was also a fixture in movies throughout the '90s, appearing in Flipper, The Good Son and The Adventures of Huck Finn, among others.

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is now playing in theaters nationwide.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”